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CharCon returns this year earlier than in the past. Leaving its date in October it this Friday July 21st to Sunday July 23rd. It has also moved from the Civic Center to the Clay Center in Charleston. Still the same old CharCon though.

This year’s games will include miniatures games of Aerodrome, Kings of War tournament, Tech Commander, Battletech, Warmachine/Hordes, Sailpower; a series of social deduction games like Werewolf and Resistant; board games Agricola, Pandemic Survival, Mystic Vale tournament, live action Red Dragon Inn, a Catan National Qualifier, a bunch of Play to Win games, and more; a series of Family Games on Sunday; RPGs from Pathfinder Society, SPARKS, Star Trek Adventures, Dungeon Dragons Adventures, Call of Cthulhu, Ponyfinder, and Metal, Magic, and Lore.

Non gaming events scheduled are a Quick Draw with JR Earls, a Sci-Fi Sing Along, the Artemis Spaceship Bridge Simulator, a murder mystery game, a game show, Junior Ghostbuster Training, panels, attendee swap meet on Sunday, a Paint and Take, and the CharCon Raffle. The con is trying to do a lot with cosplay this year as well. Besides their Cosplay Contests for adults on Saturday and kids on Sunday, they will be filming a cosplay video, holding photo shoots, a cosplay panel by Bunny Bombshell, a mermaid swim, the Mandolorian Mercs and Ghostbusters will be set up, and their only announced guest is cosplayer John Clark from Galaxy Productions.

Charcon After Dark will be going are at near by bars both Friday and Saturday night.

There will be reps from Portal Games, Mr. B Games. Vendors and exhibitors at the con will be selling all kinds of board, card, collectible, miniature games and gaming accessories, plus comics, art, dice, t-shirts, and more.

Admission for the weekend is $40, $30 for Friday or Sunday, and $25 for Saturday only passes. Children twelve and under can get in for $20 for the weekend or $10 for a single day. Non-gaming passes are available for $10 per day.

The con has a nice line up of gaming for all. I say any gamers out there can find something to do. There is also plenty for cosplayers.

Video Games Live is an immersive concert experience of music from video games performed with orchestras and combined with light, sounds, and audience interaction and is coming back to the mountain state. They will be performing with the Wheeling Symphony in Wheeling and the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra in Charleston. The Wheeling show will be at the Capital Theatre Friday February 10th starting at 7:30pm. The Charleston show will be at the Clay Center Saturday February 11th starting at 8pm.

You can help create the set list be suggesting songs on the Facebook event pages. (Wheeling, Charleston)

The show will also have a costume contest prior to the concert and a meet & greet with “game industry luminaries” after the concert. Traditional string quartet, Triforce Quartet will be performing as special guests at both shows.

Tickets for the Wheeling performance range from $16.50 to $62. The tickets for the Charleston show range from $35 to $69. Get them while you can. There is an Ultimate Gamer V.I.P. Experience Package you can add to either ticket for $100. With it you get a laminated backstage tour pass, pre-show production tour with meet & greet, album download card, pin, sticker, front of line access to post-show meet & greet, and signed page of conductor sheet music.

Fans of video games and video game music will want to try to catch this. The performance will not be boring.

The Clay Center’s Science-Fiction Film Series returns this week with Fahrenheit 451 on Friday October 17th and Saturday October 18th at 7:30pm at the electric Sky Theater. The movie, based on the Ray Bradbury novel, follows Guy Montag whose job is to burn all books till he starts to read some and question the world he lives in. The movie has a runtime of 112 minutes.

They will have another showing in December with The Brother from Another Planet. Friday the 5th and Saturday the 6th at 7pm. The movie follows an escaped alien slave who crash-lands in New York Harbor and flees two Men in Black.

Both are just $6 each per person.

They are also doing a special free screening on Halloween with the silent 1922 Nosferatu at 11:30pm, Friday October 31st. The film is considered a Masterpiece of silent cinema. The earliest screen adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula follows Count Orlok. The movie runtime is 94 minutes.

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Another screening you might want to go it up in Sutton at the Elk Theatre they will be showing John Carpenter’s Halloween on October 28, 29, 30, and 31 at 7pm each night. Admission is $5 per person. Halloween is the original 1978 slasher film to feature Micheal Myers stalking a young Jamie Lee Curtis and being followed by his psychiatrist Donal Pleasence. The Elk Theater is a one screen 1930’s movie theater that was put on The National Historic Registry in 1987.

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Let us also not forget the Rifftrax live screening of Anaconda on Thursday October 30th at 8pm and re-broadcast on Tuesday November 4th 7:30pm. This will be your only chance to see the movie get riffed. The movie has Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, and more fighting a giant snake in the Amazon. The movie will be shown at theaters in Bridgeport, Morgantown, Nitro, and Barboursville at about $12.50 a ticket.

The Kanawha Players Theater has another classic movie viewing Friday (July 11) at 10pm. This time it is Spooks Run Wild with Bella Lugosi and is part of East Side Kids series of films. In this one the boys are sent to mountain camp, hear about a killer on the loose, and end up at Lugosi’s mansion. A comedy/horror film for all to enjoy.

Tickets are just $3 and concessions will be sold.

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The Orpheum Project presents Trek in the Parking(ing garage) with The Menagerie Pts. 1 and 2. The one where the pilot episode of the series is shown to the current crew of the Enterprise.

It is this Saturday, July 12th, at 8pm at the parking garage by the Cabell County Public Library.

Water and Cracker Jacks will be provided to all.

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The Clay Center’s Sci-Fi Film Series, using the planetarium screen, continues with Brazil and Fahrenheit 451.

Brazil, Terry Gilliam’s Oscar nominee Orwellian future, will be shown at 7pm Friday August 15th and Saturday August 16th. Fahrenheit 451 is based on the Ray Bradbury novel tells of a firefighter who burns books for living. It will be shown on Friday October 17th and Saturday October 18th at 7:30pm.

Both films are just $6 each.
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For fans of anime, the latest Dragonball Z movie Battle of Gods is getting a limited release in theaters on August 5, 6, 7, and 9. Some of those are in state. The movie will be shown at the Morgantown Mall Cinema, Bluefield Cinema, and the Teays Valley Stadium (just five minutes from where I live). Check your local theater for times and admission costs.

The movie is about a god who comes to Earth looking for a good fight and for Goku it is Tuesday.

This summer and into October there will be a number of special screenings in theaters for fans of sci-fi, fantasy, and the usual nerd genres. Here is a quick list of what I know of.

A two night David Tennant event. Frist on Monday June 16th, the Doctor Who two parter, Rise of the Cybermen and Age of Steel with a special interview at the end with Tennant. On Tuesday June 17th at 7:30pm the documentary about birds in flight Wings in 3D narrated by Tennant.

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At the Park Place Stadium Cinemas in Charleston a screening of Jim Henson’s Labyrinth will be screened Sunday July 6th and Monday July 7th at 4pm. Tickets for this is just $6.

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RiffTrax returns to theaters Thursday July 10th at 8pm with Sharknado with a rebroadcast on Tuesday July 15th at 7:30pm. They are also running a Kickstarter to raise the funds to riff the 1998 Godzilla movie. They have already met their goal of $100,000 for this, but now if they get $250,000 they will also do a riffing of Anaconda (as of this writing they are at $232,000). Godzilla will shown in theaters for one night on August 14th and if they get the money for Anaconda it will be shown on October 30th.

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Monty Python Live (mostly), the reunion show of the Python cast, will be broadcast on to the screen Sunday July 20th at 2:30pm with rebroadcast on Wednesday July 23rd and Thursday 24th. For three hours watch John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Pain will perform your favorite skits and with new material.

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The original Ghostbusters movie will be back in theaters for a limited run this October. Places have not yet been finalized, about 500 theaters across the US so let us hope we get at least one in state, but the dates are known. It will be on Thursdays October 13, 20, and 27 with one showtime each day.

Now I did bother getting ticket prices for each event, but expect at least $10 and probably over that. That is just the price of special showings. Also check each one for what ones are close to you.

This Saturday April 12th there are a few things going on around Kanawha Valley for nerds to check out.

Kanawha County Libraries and Kanawha Valley Astronomical Society are hosting a celebration of the anniversary of the first manned space flight by Russia’s Yuri Gagarin and first launch of NASA’s Space Shuttle with a star party at Camp Virgil Tate. Road to the Stars: Celebrate Yuri’s Night . Things start at 6pm with various crafts, games, activities for children of all ages. When things get dark the KVAS will lead everyone to their Breezy Point Observatory to gaze at the start through a brand new large telescope and various members’ personal ones. Space is limited so register at the Cross Lanes Library, online, or by calling 304-775-5999.

A starship crew goes on an expedition to investigate the sudden silence of a space colony. They find two survivors – Dr. Morbius and his daughter Altaira, who have somehow survived a hideous monster that roams the planet. How have they survived the menacing creäture and what is the deadly secret that one of them possesses? Find out in this sci-fi classic!

They will be showing it on Friday April at 7pm and again on Saturday at 7pm. Admission is $6 per person. Buy tickets now or at the box office.

Also at the Clay Center’s Walker Theatre, at the rear entrance, will be WV Shakespeare Festival. All I know about it, is there will be a stage combat workshop from 1-5pm with a performance at 7pm. It is a free event, but donations will be accepted.

Yet again at the Clay Center, check out The Music of Harry Potter. Listen to the original music by John Williams from the Harry Potter movies. Plus, Maestro Cooper will be wearing his sorcerer’s hat and perform a little magic for everyone.

The first film to be shown is the legendary silent film Metropolis. It will be shown at 7pm through 10pm on Friday February 7th and Saturday 8th. Tickets are only $6.

Experience a classic, groundbreaking film that set the standard for cinema and special effects in science fiction with Metropolis, Fritz Lang’s 1927 futuristic masterpiece. Watch what happens between wealthy industrialists and underground-dwelling workers when the son of the city’s mastermind falls in love with a working class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.

Granted you can watch the movie on Netflix or get a DVD from the library, but here is your chance to watch it on a giant screen and really feel it.